Tariff Resources and Support

Canada and the U.S. share one of the world’s most successful partnerships, built on a foundation of shared history, common values, and strong ties, and are each other’s largest trading partners, with deeply integrated economies.

Safeguarding the strength and success of this partnership remains a top priority for Canada.

Continuous threat of tariffs by the U.S., risks discouraging investments in the U.S., as investors grow hesitant to allocate more capital into an unpredictable U.S. market.

The Government of Canada is committed to reducing internal trade barriers to encourage more trade and opportunities for Canadian businesses across the country.

On April 2, 2025, President Trump announced a 10% reciprocal tariff on all countries, with some countries receiving a higher rate (e.g., China at 34%, EU at 20%, Japan at 24%, South Korea at 25%).

The blanket 10% tariff will take effect April 5, while the country-specific tariffs will take effect April There is no end date specified.

Canada is not affected by the April 2 reciprocal tariff announcement. However, it fundamentally changes the international trading

The Section 232 25% tariff on steel and aluminum continues to apply.

The Section 232 25% tariff on automotive vehicles took effect on April 3.

The Section 232 tariff on auto parts will take effect on a date to be announced in the Federal Register, but no later than May 3.

For automotive vehicles that qualify for preferential tariff treatment under CUSMA, the value of “U.S. content” (e.g., value of parts produced entirely or substantially transformed in the U.S.) within the automobiles can be excluded from the tariffs, subject to approval by the Secretary of Commerce.

For auto parts, the 25% tariff does not apply to auto parts that qualify for preferential treatment under CUSMA until such time that the Secretary, in consultation with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), establishes a process for applying the 25% tariff exclusively to the value of the non-U.S. content.

Countermeasures

On April 3, Prime Minister Carney announced countermeasures in response to the Section 232 tariff on automotive vehicles. These countermeasures include 25% tariffs on non-CUSMA compliant fully assembled vehicles imported into Canada from the U.S.; 25% tariffs on non-Canadian and non- Mexican content of CUSMA compliant fully assembled vehicles imported into Canada from the U.S.; and Canada’s intention to develop a framework for auto producers to avoid our counter tariffs that incentivizes production and investment in Canada.

Prime Minister Carney has stated that every dollar raised from these countermeasures will go directly to support Canadian auto workers.

President Trump announced 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports on March 12th.

A 25% tariff on steel and aluminum will lead to significant cost increases for U.S. manufacturing, less competitive U.S. exports of finished goods, and ultimately higher prices for consumers.

These Proclamations on imports of steel and aluminum are a clear violation of U.S. trade obligations under CUSMA and the WTO. Specifically:

The Proclamations run counter to the May 2019 Joint Statement, under which the U.S. removed Section 232 tariffs and Canada withdrew its countermeasures and WTO litigation.

The Proclamations violate the CUSMA side letter on future Section 232 measures which obliges the U.S. to not adopt or maintain tariffs or restrictions against Canada for a period of at least 60 days after the imposition of a measure to enable negotiations.

The CUSMA side letter permits Canada to take countermeasures immediately

Reciprocal Tariffs from Canada

Due to the implementation of these 25% tariffs effective March 13, 2025, Canada implemented 25% reciprocal tariffs on a list of steel products worth $12.6 billion and aluminum products worth $3 billion, and on additional imported U.S. goods worth $14.2 billion, for a total of $29.8 billion. The list of additional products affected by counter tariffs includes tools, computers and servers, display monitors, sport equipment, and cast-iron products.

With regards to the imposition of tariffs on the steel and aluminum content in certain derivative products by the U.S., the government is currently assessing this aspect of the U.S. tariffs and may impose further counter tariffs in response.

On 3 April 2025, new countermeasures to protect Canadian workers and businesses and defend Canada’s economy were announced. These countermeasures include:

25 per cent tariffs on non-CUSMA compliant fully assembled vehicles imported into Canada from the United States;

25 per cent tariffs on non-Canadian and non-Mexican content of CUSMA compliant fully assembled vehicles imported into Canada from the United States; and,

Canada’s intention to develop a framework for auto producers that incentivizes production and investment in Canada.

These measures build upon the Government of Canada’s previously announced support for Canadian workers and businesses.